Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Inside the office of the chief of Longhai Security Bureau.

"Three conditions, three forms of reciprocation."

"Medication, teaching, live broadcast..."

Nie Hailong frowned deeply as he looked at the document before him.

Ning Qing stood by his side, silent, quietly waiting for the outcome.

Although she had promised Xu Yang that she would do her utmost to facilitate this matter, sometimes not speaking could be more effective than speaking. She believed that with the wisdom and insight of her bureau chief, he would make a wise decision.

As expected...

"Agree to it!"

Nie Hailong tossed the document aside, then turned to Ning Qing and said, "You will be fully responsible for this matter."

"Yes!"

Ning Qing nodded, picked up the document, and left the room.

"Qianjin, live broadcast, medication..."

Nie Hailong was left alone, murmuring to himself with furrowed brows.

There was a sense of unease in his heart, an unease that came from nowhere.

Was that live broadcast a coincidence or...?

Nie Hailong couldn't say for sure; perhaps it was professional instinct or the nervousness brought on by the various recent events that made him exceptionally wary of the current people and affairs.

But as much as he was on guard, as the head of the bureau, he couldn't disregard the overall interest for a hint of personal suspicion.

Incorporating this person into the Security Bureau and establishing a mutually beneficial cooperation was all to the bureau's advantage, and he truly could not find a reason to refuse. At most, they would maintain supervision and deal with problems as they rose.

"Chief!"

No sooner had Ning Qing left did the office door get knocked on again, bearing an obvious urgency.

Nie Hailong's gaze sharpened as he immediately responded, "Come in!"

As soon as the words fell, the door was pushed open and a person hurried in: "We've detected a large number of Black Sect members' movements."

Nie Hailong immediately stood up: "Where are they, and who are these people?"

"They're mid and lower-level personnel from Black Sect, gathering en masse towards Wuyuan, and they're carrying a large number of heretical cultists and contraband with them. They've also created a lot of chaos in various areas as a diversion."

"Wuyuan?"

"Damn it!"

Nie Hailong's pupils contracted as he said sternly, "Immediately notify all departments; we must at all costs block these heretical cultists."

"Yes!"

The person nodded and hurried away.

Nie Hailong didn't say much more and picked up the phone: "Immediately contact all agencies in and around Wuyuan for a regional lockdown. No one is allowed into the area, regardless of who they are."

"In addition, alert the headquarters and request support. The Black Lotus Sect is planning a major terrorist activity in the Wuyuan area."

"First and second teams, arm yourselves and wait for my command!"

Following a string of orders, Nie Hailong too left the office in a hurry.

No one could blame him for his urgency; the situation had escalated to the point of no return.

The Black Sect's predecessor was the Black Lotus Sect, an organization of a transcendental nature.

Such organizations, unlike ordinary gangs and armed groups, could not be tolerated even by federal agencies.

Why not tolerate them?

Because they are a bunch of insane heretical cultists!

The Federation can tolerate Transcendents forming organizations, gangs, or even warlords, tacitly allowing them to carve out territories and dominate regions because they are communicable, manageable, controllable, and pursue nothing more than interests. If handled well, they can be kept in check.

But a sect-like organization like the Black Sect is different; from top to bottom, they are all fanatics, completely uncommunicative, not knowing the meaning of compromise. Their actions are not for simple self-interest but for pursuits incomprehensible to ordinary people, causing various transcendental terrorist incidents.

How can federal agencies tolerate such things, such actions?

They can only be struck down!

But despite years of suppression, they have not been completely eradicated.

The reasons are twofold: the Black Sect's tradition is ancient, with profound potential, tough as a centipede which does not die easily; and secondly, because the Federation's power is limited, they truly cannot eradicate such organizations completely.

Although the overall power of the Federation far surpasses that of the Black Sect, it's impossible for the Federation to deploy all its forces to pursue a single Black Sect, as there are many similar organizations around the world, scattered across Blue Star, constantly constraining the power of the federal agencies.

While federal agencies have always been striking hard against these intolerable sect-like organizations, they are often in a passive defense, and even oblivious until it's too late, typically only becoming aware of the enemy's actions after the fact, and then scrambling to respond, close the stable door after the horse has bolted, or to clean up the aftermath.

Helplessly, an enemy in the shadows leaves them passive. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

The top echelons of these sect organizations are powerful Transcendents, possessing various means to evade federal oversight. With the current power of the federal agencies, it is simply not possible to prevent problems before they occur.

If the monitoring of higher-ups is impossible, then they only can monitor mid and lower-level members. But by the time these lower levels act, whatever needed to be done was already done.

Without delving further, just think about the current situation, where the heretical cultists have made major moves, blatantly revealing themselves under the gaze of the federal agencies.

This indicates that the Black Sect's upper echelons have already completed their plans, and sending these cultists is just the icing on the cake; their presence is preferred but their absence is not a major concern.

The Black Lotus Sect's operations can no longer be stopped. Now, all they can do is to control the situation as much as possible, to prevent further deterioration, minimize the losses, and then wait for the arrival of the powerful forces from the headquarters to clean up the situation.

This is the process.

But Nie Hailong was not confident whether they would be able to maintain control.

After all, this was the first significant terrorist activity since the Red Moon.

The night of the Red Moon had a profound impact; the strength of these sect organizations might have been greatly enhanced.

Although the influence of the Red Moon was comprehensive, benefiting the Federation as well, it's uncertain who gained more strength. If the Black Lotus Sect has advanced more, then the federal agencies' effort to control the situation...

His heart concerned, his unease greater.

But at this moment, Nie Hailong had no other choice but to lead the two rapid response teams of the bureau to Wuyuan.

Boarding the helicopter and watching the rapidly shrinking scenery below, Nie Hailong took out his mobile phone as if compelled by some force, but this time he saw no familiar update notification.

This left Nie Hailong somewhat disappointed.

This time, the Black Lotus Sect's actions could be retaliation or something else.

But regardless, he was the catalyst for this matter.

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"You caused this trouble; aren't you going to solve it?"

"Doesn't make sense, does it?"

...

Elsewhere, Wuyuan Town.

This remote rural town had now been locked down and placed under martial law.

Around the town, steel structures dominated, as tanks and armed military police stood by in strict formation.

Despite the martial law, the town itself showed no reaction whatsoever, not even a single person in sight.

It was silent, deathly silent, the kind of silence where you could hear a pin drop!

Facing such a bizarre situation, even the fully armed Federation forces dared not enter to investigate, only able to lock down the area and enforce martial law from the outside.

An hour or two ago, the town had been no different from usual, but people had gradually disappeared without a trace, eventually turning it into this eerie, deserted ghost town.

Where had all the townspeople gone?

No one knew, and the Federal agencies didn't dare to rashly probe, able only to seal off the area and control the situation.

In the midst of this tense atmosphere...

"Whoosh!"

A cold wind howled, cherry blossoms danced in the sky, and a thick fog rolled in, blurring the boundaries in an instant.

"This..."

"Not good!"

"Evacuate outwards!"

Seeing this scene unfold, everyone's expression changed, and the commanders of various teams hastily issued orders to evacuate. But the walkie-talkies produced only static noise. All communication was cut off, with no response at all.

"Damn it!"

A combat squad huddled inside a tank, silently observing the outside. All around, the fog was thick, buildings were barely discernible, and flakes fluttered down...

No, they weren't snowflakes!

"Snap!"

A soft sound as a petal fell and stuck to the viewing port of the tank, turned out to be a talisman, made of white paper and red sand.

"Whoosh!"

Another gust of wind howled, and talismans flew everywhere, driving the dense fog that swirled around, creating a ghostly realm.

"What's going on?"

"Where is this?"

"Where are the others?"

Inside the tank, a few soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, unable to hide the terror in their hearts.

Even elite soldiers, when faced with such an abnormal situation, were not much different from ordinary people.

"Thud!"

At that moment, footsteps sounded, quickly becoming more frequent.

The soldiers' pupils constricted, and they looked outside again.

Within the dense fog, silhouettes began to appear, looking like the walking dead, heading straight in this direction.

Brahma sounds of chants and compassionate echoes penetrated their ears.

"Blessings, blessings, Bodhisattva of Flesh and Blood, Big Black Buddha Mother, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back to the shore, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back to the shore..."

"Endless cycles of reincarnation, the merciful heart of the Black Buddha Mother, Cihang Pudu to save all beings..."

"Thus have I heard, thus have I seen, thus have I observed..."

"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..."

The Brahma chants, which turned into demonic sound in their ears, were words of praise but sounded like eerie, weird tunes. The overlapping echoes and the waves of chants came in like a tide, surging turbulently from all directions.

Inside the tank, the soldiers felt a spell of dizziness as the scene before their eyes suddenly changed.

Darkness, darkness, darkness came like a flood.

In the darkness, a lotus flower bloomed, transforming into a lotus platform.

Atop the platform, a Buddha sat alone, not in a dignified pose but in a casual cross-legged seat.

A Golden Buddha with a belly as large as a drum, covered in dark curses, sat on the black lotus with children kneeling at its feet. It had eight arms; six danced in the back, holding magic artifacts like Vajra Pestles, and two in the front in a lotus gesture. Amidst the divine and solemn, there lurked a sinister horror.

It was...

The men's eyes trembled as their gaze, uncontrollably and involuntarily, was drawn upward toward the face of the Buddha.

Above the Black Lotus, the Big Buddha sat with a bright red talisman on its forehead, covering its features like a headband.

"Boom!"

The moment their eyes met, dark flames erupted, and the crimson talisman ignited, turning to ashes in an instant, revealing the face beneath.

Below the talisman, there was no compassion, no majesty.

Only... emptiness!

Empty eyes, an empty face!

That was It, that was It!

The Bodhisattva of Flesh and Blood, the Jealousy Demon Venerable—Big Black Buddha Mother!

Elsewhere...

In the mountains, within Taoist Temples.

Beneath the Mana Altar, in front of the deity.

"Evildoer!"

With a sigh, the Taoist Man opened his eyes and stood up solemnly.

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